ABSTRACT
Much attention was paid in the APADEP studies to opinions and attitudes of worker representatives towards participation. It was argued in Chapter 3 that, whatever schemes or systems of participation are put in place by government, management or employers, these will remain relatively irrelevant unless they respond to a felt need for participation by the social structures for which they are meant. Democratic participation is more likely to achieve continuity if the workers and their representatives actually want it: that is one of the conditions for the institutionalisation of participation. The following evaluation criteria for social acceptance of democratic worker participation were formulated: general attitudes to participation; values attached to participation; participation militancy and propensity; participation confidence; perception of decision making prerogatives (see Chapter 3). In institutionalisation theory it is further assumed that sheer acceptance by the social structure concerned (in this case the workers) is not enough: the new idea has to be accepted and actively supported by a sufficient number of groups and organisations with power, and in the case of labour relations these may include the trade unions, employer organisations and government, plus possibly political parties.
